Funding Opportunity PAR-19-377 from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to stimulate clinical research that harnesses the wealth of advances in the fields of genomics and other omics (e.g., metabolomics, microbiomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, etc.) to incorporate these advances into translatable, personalized biobehavioral interventions for improved health outcomes.

Funding Opportunity PAR-19-376 from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to encourage exploratory/developmental research applications that propose to study the development, validation, feasibility, and effectiveness of innovative mobile health (mHealth) interventions or tools specifically suited for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) that utilize new or emerging technology, platforms, systems, or analytics. The overall goal of the program is to catalyze innovation through multidisciplinary research that addresses global health problems, develop an evidence base for the use of mHealth technology to improve clinical and public health outcomes, and strengthen mHealth research capacity in LMICs. Applicants are required to propose partnerships between at least one U.S. institution and one LMIC institution.

Funding Opportunity PAR-19-374 from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. This FOA allows for applications that propose large-scale, complex research projects with multiple highly integrated components focused on a common research question relevant to aging. Such projects will likely involve an integrated multidisciplinary team of investigators within a single institution or a consortium of institutions.

Funding Opportunity RFA-CA-19-042 from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. This UE5 funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is for a part of the NCIs Informatics Technology for Cancer Research (ITCR) program (https://itcr.cancer.gov/), and establishes an ITCR Education Center to provide education resources that will enhance the use and usability of the informatics tools and resources developed and supported by the ITCR program through education of both the cancer research community as well as informatics tool developers. To accomplish the stated over-arching goal, this FOA will support creative educational activities with a primary focus on Courses for Skills Development The proposed Center will provide focused education courses in each of the following two areas (1) thematic topics in cancer informatics and (2) informatics tool usability and user support . The courses supporting education in thematic topics in cancer informatics should cover the variety of domains represented by the ITCR program and incorporate ITCR tools as exemplars for applying informatics methods, including, as appropriate, hands-on training on the associated tools and analysis workflows for participants. The courses in informatics tool usability and user support should focus on activities that target the needs of currently funded ITCR investigators, and provide guidance in enhancing the usability and user support of their tools.

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I am pleased to announce the selection of Susan K. Gregurick, Ph.D., as the Associate Director for Data Science (ADDS) and the Director of the NIH Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS). She replaces Phillip E. Bourne, Ph.D., who departed in 2017 to the University of Virginia.

Funding Opportunity RFA-DK-19-005 from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement is to invite U54 cooperative agreement applications for Cooperative Centers of Excellence in Hematology (CCEH). The NIDDK Hematology Centers Program is designed to increase access to critical research resources and collaboration in the national multidisciplinary research effort to combat nonmalignant hematologic diseases and to study normal hematopoiesis. In addition, it aims to improve cost-effectiveness of preparing critical reagents, maintaining state-of-the-art resources, and running multi-step molecular biologic assays. Each CCEH will support a minimum of three Biomedical Research Cores, an Administrative Core, and an Enrichment Program. The CCEH are expected to work collaboratively with the NIDDK Hematology Central Coordinating Center -- together comprising the NIDDK Hematology Centers Program. By providing state-of-the-art equipment, resources, and expertise to the greater nonmalignant hematology research community, the program will serve as a national hub for nonmalignant hematology research, supporting career development of scientists just beginning their careers in the field and attracting established investigators from other domains. Funded Centers will cooperate with the NIDDK to facilitate research collaborations and interactions within and among Centers and with the wider research community.

Funding Opportunity RFA-AG-20-032 from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. NIA's MD-PhD Training Program in Alzheimer's Disease and Its Related Dementias and the Behavioral and Social Sciences is designed to help strengthen the pipeline of physician-scientist leaders dedicated to using social and behavioral science approaches to addressing the nation's challenges posed by Alzheimer's disease and its related dementias (AD/ADRD). This FOA provides support to eligible domestic institutions to develop and implement effective approaches to integrated dual-degree training leading to the award of both an MD and a research doctorate degree (PhD or equivalent, e.g. DSW).

Funding Opportunity RFA-HD-20-021 from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. The purpose of this RFA is to encourage studies on reproductive health, fertility and fertility preservation/treatment options in patients born with a serious chronic condition who can now expect to survive into adulthood healthy enough to consider their reproductive health and fertility options. The underlying pathophysiology of diseases such as sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, and cystic fibrosis, among others, and/or the cumulative effects of their treatment, can compromise reproductive health. This RFA encourages teams of scientists with expertise in the realm of the particular disease and in reproductive health and fertility to work together to understand the effects of the diseases and/or their treatments on parameters of reproductive health, and to identify ways to preserve, protect, or treat and reproductive deficits in these patients.

Funding Opportunity RFA-HD-20-001 from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to increase the impact of NICHD-funded research within the scientific mission of the NICHD Population Dynamics Branch (PDB) by providing research infrastructure to: promote data sharing; support the development of procedures and technologies for data sharing; disseminate best practices in data sharing; provide a resource that catalogs NICHD-funded data available for secondary analysis; and promote the secondary analysis of data collected through NICHD grants to research teams outside the original grantees.

Funding Opportunity RFA-DA-20-010 from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. There are two main purposes of the Rat Opioid Genome Project. The first is to tease out genetic, genomic, and molecular (epi)genetic variants that underlie phenotypes associated with distinct stages along the opioid use disorder (OUD) trajectory to identify potential targets for future interventions at early stages along the trajectory. The second is to identify genetic, genomic, and molecular (epi)genetic variants underlying comorbid conditions and/or phenotypes that can be used to develop therapeutics to save lives of people who are at the end stages of the OUD trajectory.

Funding Opportunity PAR-19-375 from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. The NIH Common Fund has established the Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program (Kids First) to develop a pediatric research data resource populated by genome sequence and phenotypic data that will be of high value for the communities of investigators who study the genetics of childhood cancers and/or structural birth defects. Kids First has established and continues to develop a Data Resource including a collection of curated genomic and phenotypic data from childhood cancer and structural birth defects cohorts and a central portal where these data and analysis tools are accessible to the research community. Access to these data will promote comprehensive and cross-cutting research and collaboration leading to more refined diagnostic capabilities and ultimately more targeted therapies. This FOA is intended to support meritorious small research projects focused on analyses of childhood cancer and/or structural birth defects genomic datasets generated by the Kids First program and/or associated phenotypic datasets. Development of approaches, tools, or algorithms appropriate for analyzing genomic, phenotypic, and/or clinical data relevant to Kids First may also be proposed

Funding Opportunity RFA-CA-19-064 from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to reduce the burden of cancer and improve the quality of cancer care in rural areas among low-income and/or underserved populations. The FOA encourages two types of applications: 1) observational research that includes pilot testing of intervention to understand and address predictors of cancer care/treatment and outcomes in rural low-income and/or underserved populations; or 2) intervention research to address known predictors of cancer care/treatment and outcomes in rural low-income and/or underserved populations. Specifically, the focus for observational studies (with pilot testing) is understanding and addressing the predictive and/or mediating role of social determinants of health, barriers to care, and treatment; and the focus for interventional research is on addressing quality of care related to cancer diagnosis, treatment and/or survivorship. Most existing cancer control interventions are not ready for direct implementation and dissemination in low-income rural areas, so proposals should seek to develop, adapt, and/or implement, and test interventions.

If your institution closes due to severe weather or other natural disasters, NIH has policies in place to help your research to continue. We recently published an NIH Guide Notice that reminds those impacted by Hurricane Dorian about the flexibilities for application and report submission provided by these policies.

Funding Opportunity RFA-OD-19-027 from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. The Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP) encourages grant applications aimed at developing, characterizing or improving animal models of human diseases; improving access to information about or generated from the use of animal models of human disease; or improving diagnosis and control of diseases of laboratory animals. The animal models and related materials developed must have broad application to multiple NIH Institutes or Centers (ICs) to align with the ORIPs trans-NIH mission. Applications must describe the need and potential impact of the proposed resources on broad research areas supported by multiple NIH ICs. Applications to develop models that relate strictly to a specific disease or a select area of research will not be considered acceptable. Projects that predominantly address the research interests of one NIH IC but are only peripherally related to the research interests of other Institutes and Centers will also not be acceptable for this FOA.